Wednesday, May 28, 2008

DNC: We Will Not Count All Of Florida Delegates

Democratic National Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their convention delegates for holding elections too early, the party's legal experts wrote in a 38-page memo.

The memo was sent late Tuesday to the 30 members of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which plans to meet Saturday at a Washington hotel. The committee is considering ways to include the two important general election battlegrounds at the nominating convention in August, and the staff analysis says seating half the delegates is "as far as it legally can" go.

Saturday's meeting is expected to draw a large crowd, with Clinton supporters among those encouraging a protest outside demanding that all the states' delegates be seated. Proponents of full reseating have mailed committee members Florida oranges and pairs of shoes to get their attention.

DNC officials are concerned about a potentially large turnout at the "Count Every Vote" rally outside the event and have asked the hotel staff to increase security to keep everyone safe. The DNC says the roughly 500 seats available to the public inside were taken within three or four minutes of becoming available online Tuesday.

The DNC analysis does not make recommendations for how the Rules and Bylaws Committee should vote, but gives context from the party's charter and bylaws for the committee to consider.

It underscores a prickly problem: If the Rules and Bylaws Committee decides to restore any of the states' delegates, there is not a simple way to divide them between Clinton and Barack Obama.

Clinton won the majority of the vote in Florida and Michigan and has been arguing that the delegates should be fully restored according to the results of the January primaries.

The analysis also said there is an option to restore 100 percent of the delegates  by a recommendation of the Credentials Committee that meets later this summer. However, that would mean a final decision would not be made until the first day of the convention in Denver since Credentials Committee decisions have to be approved by the full convention as it convenes  risking a floor fight.

shoe shipments are being organized by http://WalkAMileInOurShoes.org and the orange idea was promoted by a group called Florida Demands Representation, which plans to bus Floridians to Saturday's rally outside the meeting. Blaine Whitford, a volunteer helping organize the effort, said they are unalign with any candidate.

Susie Buell, one of Clinton's top fundraisers, has formed a political action committee encouraging women to support full seating of the delegates. The WomenCountPAC has taken out ads in USA Today and The New York Times promoting attendance at the rally.

1 comment:

* Endorse the candidate that won the popular vote reflecting the will of the people. Senator Clinton has won the popular vote by more than 300,00 votes.

* Endorse the stronger candidate with a more certain win of the General Election. Senator Clinton has the electoral votes to win the General Election and beat McCain.

We the citizen voters wish you to know that we know the the facts, and we wish to remind of the facts:

* Super Delegates and unbound delegates can change which candidate they support every minute, every hour until the convention- we've already seen that. Senator Clinton is still winning delegates, and some are those who have switched back to Senator Clinton. We applaud and will loyally support those superdelegates and delegates as party leaders and those in office whom we are constituents of. We will not support nor will we contribute to or vote for those who go against the will of the people as expressed in the popular vote.

* There are still 970 delegates that are "up for grabs" that can vote any way they choose in Denver. * 795 super delegates AND an additional 175 non bound voter selected delegates. * The delegate race is actually essentially tied - less than 60 bound delegates separate the two candidates! Senator Obama only has 1638 bound pledged delegates and Senator Clinton has 1581 bound pledged delegates.

At the convention any delegate bound is only bound on the first ballot/vote and given the above facts, no candidate may emerge the winner on the first ballot.

The real delegate race is essentially tied. It is still very possible for Senator Clinton to win the delegate count in addition to already having won the popular vote by over 300,000 votes! The super delegate and unbound delegate endorsements should reflect the will of the people - the popular vote..Don't walk away from the winning base! We are most of America! We are most of your constituents. Senator Clinton has won the popular vote. Senator Clinton has the electoral votes to win the general election for our party. She is winning the base we must have. She will win the general election.

Please carefully consider our message of true inclusive principled Democratic Party unity, and endorse Senator Clinton to support the will of the voters, and your constituents. We are all constituents of the Democratic Party.

Tell your friends, neighbors, family! Have a Sock the Vote House Party!!!visit: http://www.WalkAMileInOurShoes.org